February is upon us and once again romance is in the air. Greeting cards will be purchased, candlelit dinners will be eaten and florists will probably make more money in one weekend than they do throughout the rest of the year. It’s an annual ritual, all done in the hopes of finding true love. Or maybe just getting laid.
But this year is different. This year, Valentines Day falls on a Saturday, which means that the day before is a Friday… Friday the 13th.
This year, February isn’t just about romance and roses, it’s also about reboots! Specifically, the reboot/relaunch/remake/re-imagining of 'Friday the 13th'. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from 'Friday the 13th', it’s that romance equals death. How many young lovers have been slaughtered by Jason Vorhees over the years? How many young dreams of fornication have been dashed by that unstoppable killing machine? I don’t know the exact number, but I know it’s a whole lot.
But I’m not here today to talk about romance or the dangers of pre-marital sex in the presence of a machete-wielding maniac. Today, we’re going to delve a little deeper into the 'Friday the 13th' franchise. Inspired equally by the films of John Carpenter and Mario Bava, Friday the 13th was a huge hit and itself inspired knockoff films, ten sequels and even a television series (which had nothing in common with the film series save for the name). There have been toys, costumes, video games, novelizations, novellas and of course, comic books.
The masked man makes his comics debut Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday #1 (1993)
That’s what we’re here to talk about today: The short but storied history of 'Friday the 13th' in the world of sequential art.
The first F13 movie was released in 1980, but Jason didn’t get into the comic business until 1993 when Topps Comics released a three-issue adaptation of Jason Goes to Hell. The series, written by Andy Mangels and illustrated by Cynthia Martin and Bobby Rubio, was based on the shooting script, so there are a few elements in the book that didn’t make it into the actual movie including a gaggle of demons pulling Jason into Hell. Sounds interesting, but I can’t find a single good review of the comic anywhere online, so I’m going to assume that this rendition of Mrs. Vorhees’ little boy does a disservice to what was already a pretty crappy movie to begin with.
A surprise visit by Jason brings an end to the Jack Kirby book SATAN'S SIX.
Jason next appeared in what is one of the weirdest marketing concepts I’ve ever heard of. Satan’s Six was part of the Kirbyverse, a line of comics also published by Topps which were based on concepts and designs created by the legendary Jack Kirby. The fourth issue of the series saw Jason passing through limbo on his way to Hell directly following the events of the Jason Goes to Hell film. It’s only a four-page cameo, and it must not be very good either because I found a copy on ebay autographed by the writer (Tony Isabella) going for a mere $10.93. Not even the combined names of Jack Kirby, Jason Vorhees and an autograph can get anyone interested in buying this book!
The final Friday offering from Topps was a crossover with another lumbering mass murderer who is no stranger to crazy family members and poorly-made sequels: Leatherface of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise.
Crossover mania continues in Jason Vs. Leatherface #1 (1995)
Jason vs. Leatherface was a three-issue mini-series that featured an all-new story by Nancy Collins that was actually pretty decent, artwork by Jeff Butler and absolutely amazing covers by Simon Bisley. This is the first Friday the 13th comic that comes with any sort of recommendation, especially for TCM fans, as the book puts a great deal of focus on Leatherface and his family.
Jason’s comic book adventures went on hiatus at that point. He was little seen in comics except for a unlicensed cameo appearance in Supernatural Law #44, circa 1999. Batton Lash's counselors of the macabre, Wolff & Byrd, find themselves defending a number of movie monsters including Mr. Voothees.
Jason returns with a vengeance in the FRIDAY the 13th SPECIAL from Avatar (2005)
Ten years after his last starring gig, Jason returned in a comic released, appropriately enough, on May 13, 2005. The one-shot, published by Avatar, featured a story by Brian Pulido, a man who is no stranger to horror comics, having created Evil Ernie and Lady Death back in the ‘90s. With art by Mike Wolfer, the comic ended up selling out and Avatar re-teamed the duo for a three-issue mini-series in September of ’05.
The plot of Friday the 13th: Bloodbath wasn’t too different from the plot of most of the Friday the 13th movies: A bunch of teenagers are hired to clean up the camp so it can re-open for the summer. The kids want nothing more than a to make a quick buck and have a weekend filled with debauchery. Of course, they end up getting much more than they bargained for as Jason reawakens and slaughters them. As the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Bloodbath was an appropriate title.
Who can resist a crossover like Friday the 13th: Jason Vs Jason X
Pulido returned again, this time with Sebastian Fiumara on pencils, for the Jason X one-shot. This one followed the events of the Jason X film and featured a bio-engineer trying to obtain tissue samples from Jason in the hopes of saving lives. Of course, nothing goes as planned and lots of people die at Jason Vorhees’ hands.
Avatar’s next F13 offering came in the form of the Jason vs. Jason X two-issue mini-series written and penciled by Mike Wolfer. This series saw the original Jason take on the futuristic cyborg version of Jason. Confused? Me too. Apparently all the loose ends from Avatar’s various F13 series’ were wrapped up in the Friday the 13th: Fearbook one-shot from the Wolfer/Fiumara team.
Which brings us to the current keeper of the flame, Wildstorm, who have released a fair amount of Friday the 13th content since acquiring the license in 2006. Both the quantity and the quality has been more than decent. I’ve read all of the Wildstorm stuff and while I wouldn’t say that it’s all great, there are more than a few shining moments.
Jason returns once more in FRIDAY THE 13th from Wildstorm (2007)
The first offering from Wildstorm came in December of ’06 and featured a story by the Jonah Hex team of Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray with art from Adam Archer. The story starts out as a pretty basic F13 tale: once again, a group of teenagers arrive at the camp with the intent of fixing it up, partying and having lots of sex. It’s pretty generic and certainly didn’t show any of the magic that Palmiotti & Gray give us on a monthly basis with Hex. It did, however, put an interesting spin on Mr. Vorhees, suggesting that he isn’t merely a reanimated killer, but perhaps part of something larger and more elemental. A veritable force or nature, if you will. The twist was good – the comic really wasn’t.
Marc Andreyko and Shawn Moll gave bloodthirsty fans a look into the past with Pamela’s Tale in July and August of ’07. This two-issue series tells the “secret origin” of Pamela Vorhees from the time she becomes pregnant with Jason to her arrival at Camp Crystal Lake and the eventual tragedy that set the story in motion so long ago. I don’t know if it’s considered canon, but I found it to be an interesting prequel that fleshes out the story a bit more without trampling on any established lore.
Friday the 13th: How I Spent my Summer Vacation may be the most fiendishly funny of all the Jason books
September and October of 2007 saw the release of How I Spent My Summer Vacation by Jason Aaron and Adam Archer. For my money, this one is the best of the bunch. It showcases a young boy with a cranial deformity who is befriended by Jason, who kidnaps the boy and takes him along on a murder spree. The book offers a bit of insight into Jason’s thought processes and somehow manages to be funny as hell.
Next up was Friday the 13th: Bad Land, a two-issue mini-series released in January and February of 2008. This one, by Ron Marz and Mike Huddleston, takes place in two time frames and shows two similar stories: One is the tale of some fur trappers caught in a blizzard 250 years ago. The other is about some teenagers in modern times seeking refuge in an abandoned cabin. The trappers take part in some pretty atrocious events and some parallel carnage takes place in that abandoned cabin I mentioned earlier (and this one features a dude in a hockey mask if you hadn’t already guessed). The artwork in this book reminded me of Michael Avon Oeming or Bruce Timm; It’s not what you’d expect in a Friday the 13th comic, but it works really well.
Friday the 13th: The Abuser and the Abused
The Abuser & The Abused, written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, tells the story of a girl with an abusive father and an abusive boyfriend, who she tricks into going out to Crystal Lake, where she intends to kill him. Naturally, Jason shows up and … well, just read the book. Even though the story isn’t particularly original, it’s worth it for the artwork of Andy B. My god! I don’t know if this guy is some famous artist drawing under an assumed name to avoid some legal troubles or if he’s a total newcomer, but will somebody please give him some more work?!?! This book looks absolutely amazing. Once again, it’s not what you’d expect from an F13 book, but it’s very awesome.
If I can take a moment to give a personal recommendation, the last four stories I mentioned have been collected by Wildstorm into a trade paperback simply titled Friday the 13th Book Two. I really enjoyed all of these stories and suggest picking up the trade, even if you aren’t a huge F13 fan. Each one offers a unique look at the franchise and doesn’t require you to be an expert on slasher flicks. They’re not just good Friday the 13th stories, they’re just good horror stories. Well done, Wildstorm.
Yet, in spite this run of well-received comics, Wildstorm's 'Friday the 13th' offerings seemed to quietly come to an end, along with their other two movie horror books: 'Nightmare on Elm Street' and 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. The publisher made no announcement of the cancellation of these books and one wonders if the dissolution of New Line Cinema as a free-standing movie studio had something to do with the demise of the line. Still with a new 'Friday' on the way, you'd think they'd be eager to have books on the shelf to greet a new generation of fans!
Three horror icons collide in FREDDY VS JASON VS ASH
And last but not least is Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash, published by Wildstorm and Dynamite Entertainment. It’s a six-issue series that ran from November of 2007 to March of 2008. Based on a film treatment by Jeff Katz, the series was written by James Kuhoric, illustrated by Jason Craig and shows us what might have been.
And what might have been is… well, pretty damn predictable, but it’s pretty fun too. The story takes place five years after the events of the Freddy vs. Jason movie, and finds Crystal Lake re-establishing itself as Forest Green. A new S-Mart warehouse store is opening soon and Housewares Domestic Engineer Ashley Williams is brought in to whip the new employees into shape. As fate would have it, Freddy Krueger is hanging out in the subconscious of Jason Vorhees and he directs Jason to find the Necronomicon, conveniently located in the basement of the old Vorhees house. You can probably figure out what happens next. It’s actually a pretty good story and should please fans of all three franchises.
There have been a lot of Friday the 13th films and a quite a few comics too. From what I’ve seen, the comics seem to be something of a Bizarro version of the movies: In general, the movies got worse with each sequel while the comics seem to have gotten better. I don’t mean to call down the wrath of the Cult of Jason with that statement, but I gotta call ‘em like I see ‘em.
While the quality of the comics may be debatable, the more recent offerings give us a lot of the same stuff that Friday the 13th fans love about the franchise: Blood, gore and boobs. I’ve spent the last week reading all the Wildstorm stuff and there’s a whole lot of all three to be found. In addition, the recent comics have taken the basic groundwork laid by the movies and expanded it into a variety of directions, which I really appreciated. It would be really easy to take the basic campers vs. killer concept and just run with it, but that would just be boring. By branching out and trying new types of stories, the recent comics have breathed a new life into the series that should allow it to survive with or without a new movie to support it.
Of course, a new movie will be in the theaters soon (or may have already been released by the time you read this). If the quality of the comics continues on the path it has been on since Wildstorm obtained the license, I hope that the new film brings new comics as well. Wildstorm’s recent offerings have proven that there’s more to this story than just blood, guts and boobies… but those are pretty awesome too.
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
